Adjustable chair

ABSTRACT

An article of furniture more particularly a chair of the nonfolding or folding type, in which both the seat and back-rest can be adjustably inclined in a separate and independent manner to provide a great number of postures. The arm-rests, which are pivoted to the back-rest and are used to incline the same, are arranged to remain level despite change in the back-rest inclination. The article of furniture may constitute a leg holder with an adjustably inclinable leg support panel equivalent to the chair seat.

United States Patent 1 Feher 1 Jan. 9, 1973 [54] ADJUSTABLE CHAIR [76]Inventor: Tibor Feher, 5130 Bourret Avenue,

Apt. 9, Montreal, Quebec, Canada [22] Filed: Dec. 2, 1970 [21] Appl.No.: 94,302

[52] U.S. Cl ..297/26, 297/28 [51] Int. Cl ..A47c 4/24 [58] Field ofSearch ..297/27, 26, 28, 24, 25, 19, 297/57, 359, 21, 55, 56, 53, 41,46,16, 313, 338

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 104,398 6/1870 Adams..297/28 170,562 11/1875 Hickmanm. ..297/46 241,533 5/1881 Flint..297/57 257,065 4/1882 Pursell.... ....297/338 X 574,801 1/1897 Harris..297/26 1,176,179 3/1916 Tervilliger ..297/41 2,059,940 11/1936Freedman ..297/359 2,887,150 5/1959 Thomas ..297/359 X 3,100,125 8/1963Crescent ..297/26 Primary ExaminerFrancis K. Zugel Attorney-PierreLesperance [57] ABSTRACT An article of furniture more particularly achair of the non-folding or folding type, in which both the seat andback-rest can be adjustably inclined in a separate and independentmanner to provide a great number of postures. The arm-rests, which arepivoted to the back-rest and are used to incline the same, are arrangedto remain level despite change in the back-rest inclination. The articleof furniture may constitute a leg holder with an adjustably inclinableleg support panel equivalent to the chair seat.

4 Claims, 16 )rawing Figures PATENTEDJAN 9 I973 3 709 554 INVENTOR TiborF EHE R BY I fi j w;

AGENT PATENTEDm' 9 197a SHEET 2 BF 3 INVENTOR Tibor FEHER @W 61W AGENTPATENTEDJAI 9191a 3.709.554 SHEET 3 [IF 3 FIG. 75

INVENTOR Tibor F EHER BY AGENT ADJUSTABLE CHAIR This invention relatesto an inexpensive adjustable chair where the position of the seat can bechanged independently from the position of the back of the chair, givingas many as twenty postures altogether.

In a few offices or homes, recliners with three different positions areused, but the relation between the seat and back cannot be changed; itremains the same when these chairs are moved to any other position.These recliners are expensive and not many people can afford to possessthem.

Due to the above-mentioned reasons, these chairs cannot be used fortherapeutic purposes for those people who are suffering from spinetroubles or rheumatic pains in their backs and who are looking for cure,relief and comfort. One of the main purposes of my idea is to produce aninexpensive chair for people suffering with spine troubles, back achesand also for simply tired people who are sitting all day long in thesame position or just weary from the everyday work. By easily changingthe postures in large veriety, this chair gives not only relief but alsocomfort and pleasure. When the seat of the chair is set in a differentlevel and the position of the back is unchanged or just hardly changedthe spine and the back muscles get a gentle stretch and relaxation whichcan be increased by setting only the back section of the seat lower andlower. The chair made of metal tube with hard (masonite or plywood) seatand back, can be folded, stored and carried easily anywhere in or out ofhome and could be available if manufactured at about the price which ispaid to a doctor for only one visit.

The same purpose and result are reached with nonfoldable solution, whenthe chair has solid, fixed legs made of wood, for example and solidlyconnected to each other underneath, below the seat. These type of chairscan be used anywhere in homes, offices, hospitals, schools, auditoriums,convention halls, cinemas, etc. where people spend hours sitting and gettired from being in the same posture.

By the same idea and principles, embodied with slightly and upwardlycurved seat, resting-place, but without arms and back, and adjustableand separately usable leg-holder is given. It would be very advantageousto use it in homes and in hospitals too. It is executed with shorterlegs than the chair and the upper section of the rear leg is extendedfor more high-position.

In homes the user would find more rest and comfort with this adjustableleg-holder than with the customary one which is touched only by one partof the leg regularly just the heel. The leg gets tired soon from thestrain because the whole weight of the leg is supported only by onepoint or section of the leg and not the whole length of the leg lyingand rested, unless the seat of the chair and the surface of theconventional and non-adjustable leg-holder are in level. When the wholelength of the leg is supported, real rest and comfort are obtained; thisis very important in hospitals for patients, mostly after surgery and inorthopedic wards, whose legs should be kept up and supported in itswhole length in a desired height and angle. In hospitals, thisleg-holder can be regarded as an important piece of furniture or adevice that encourages the weak and timid patients to use it duringtheir recovery and gives real comfort and safe feeling to them.Additionally,

both in homes and in hospitals, space can be saved by using thesefoldable leg-holders.

Both the chair and the leg-holder, depending on the place home,hospitals, offices, etc. where they are used, can be executed indifferently upholstered solutions too.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the chair in set-up position and showingvarious seat and back inclinations in dot-and-dash lines;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the chair in folded position;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the underside of the seat;

FIG. 4 is a front view of one lateral part of the rear leg and of aportion of the back frame pivotally connected thereto;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are side views of the parts of FIG. 4 showing theunlocking and locking positions of the lock tube respectively forsecuring the seat at an adjusted inclination;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of one of the chair armrests;

FIG. 8 is a cross-section on line 88 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an elevation of a pivot piece to connect the seat to the frontlegs of a non-foldable chair;

FIG. 10 is a cross-section on line 10-10 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a plan elevation of a stud plate carried by the rear portionof the seat and engageable with the part of FIGS. 13 and 14 to adjustthe seat inclination in a non-foldable chair;

FIG. 12 is a side view of the stud plate;

FIG. 13 is a front elevation of the part used in conjunction with thestud plate of FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is a side view ofFIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a side view of the non-foldable chair fitted with the partsof FIGS. 9, 11, and 13; and

FIG. 16 is a perspective view ofa leg connector box used in FIG. 15.

The two legs of the chair are made of metal tube. The rear leg 1 hasU-shape with upper-open-ends, bent at an angle in its top section. Theother one, the front leg 2 is joined or united in its upper section 3,forming a closed rectangular frame. The floor engaging bottom portionsof both legs are bent angularly to increase the rigidity of thestructure and decrease the ground-engaging surface. The width of frontleg 2 fits into the inside dimension of leg 1 and connected together bypivot 4. The upper part 3 ofleg 2 is rotatably secured to the undersideof the front section of a seat 5 by two clamps 6 and supports the frontof'the seat 5 (see FIG. 3). The seat can move freely around this upperpart 3 of leg 2 and pins 7 extending through the tube, or the likeabutments, right at the outside edge of both clamps 6, are applied tokeep the seat in proper position, preventing any side movement butallowing an acceptable play. The rear leg I is joined to the frame 8 ofthe back panel 9 by a pivot 10 at both top-ends of the leg.

From the top, a piece of tube 11 is inserted into the leg 1 forreinforcement, and they are fastened together by two rivets 12 and 13(see FIGS. 4, 5, 6). Into this double wall are made a series of notchesl4 upwardly inclined towards their open end. The top of the insertedtube 11 is level with the upper end of leg 1; its other end is below thelowest notch 14. Both ends of the leg and the back frame 8 are filledwith plastic plugs for pleasant finishing.

Upper rivet 12 is placed above notches 14 and sunk and riveted into thewall of leg 1, allowing free movement for a lock-tube 15 surroundingleg 1. The other rivet 13 is headed at both ends, goes through the lowerpart of the double walled leg section and serves as a pin to hold thelock-tube by entering slots 16 at the lower end of lock-tube 15.

The lock-tube l assures the secure use of this chair with confidence ina large selection of postures. On the lock-tube 15, a window is cut outlengthwise, to provide an access for the protruding ends of a cross-rod17 to the notches 14 in the leg 1. Cross-rod 17 is firmly secured to theunderside of the rear part of seat 5 by clamps 18 (see FIG. 3). On itsone side, the lock-tube has this large window and the other side issolid wall. The lock-tube surrounds the upper section of the leg 1 andcan be moved freely up and down and around the leg. Without putting thelock-tube in proper and safe position to lock the cross-rod 17 into oneof the notches 14, the chair cannot be set up; it collapses before onecould occupy it, because notches 14 are facing forwardly of the chair.

The chair can be made not only of tube but of other kinds of shape(U-shape, square, parallelogram, crosssection) with the modification ofthe lock-tube. Also, the diameter of the tube shape or cross-section ofthe material could be altered and chosen according to the quality ofmetal, but any such above-mentioned modification does not interfere withthe essence of the invention.

When the position of the seat is wanted to be changed, the lock-tubes atboth upper ends of the leg I should be lifted, disengaged from the pin13 and turned through a half-circle to make free both ends of thecross-rod 17, set in one of the notches 14. Turning the lock tubes 15,their windows make free access for the cross-rod 17 to the notches 14 inboth ends of the leg 1. After moving the cross-rod 17 into the desirednotches 14 in both ends of the leg, the lock tubes 15 are turned back(in opposite direction than before) with a half-turn and one lets itfall down by its own weight, to be engaged by its slot 16, with therivet 13. Then the notches 14 are closed and the cross-rod 17 is lockedinto one of the notches 14 by the solid wall of the locktube and by therivet 13, firmly and safely holding the cross-rod 17 in the selectedposition. When the crossrod is placed into the second notch from thetop, the seat parallels the ground. In the first notch, the front of theseat is slightly lower than the rear. The third and fourth notches keepthe rear lower than the front of the seat.

When one wants to change the position of the back of the chair, first itshould be released and afterwards it can be moved easily by hands, whilesitting. Both armrests 19 of the chair shall be raised and moved forwardor back according to the desired position. Thereafter, they should belowered and pushed down, so that one of their five openings 20 willbecome engaged with a rivet 21, carried by the top section ofa supporttube 22 going downward through an eyelet tube 23 which is connected tothe side edge of the seat 5 by clamps 24 underneath, as it is shown onFIG. 3.

The eyelet tubes 23, applied on both sides of the seat, can rotatefreely in their clamps. This movement is necessary when folding oropening the chair. One end of the tube 23 is flattened. into this end aneyelet is made for the support tube 22 and a straight side, a shoulder,facing towards the outside edge of the clamp 24, is formed to eliminatethe inward movement of the tube in clamp 24. The other end of eyelettube 23, facing towards the middle of the seat, has an outwardly bentsection of its periphery. When the eyelet tube is in its proper place,this bent section, about a quarter of the periphery, is turned towardsthe ground and leans against the inside edge of the clamp 24 to preventany outward movement of the eyelet tube. By this solution, only arotating movement of the eyelet tube is achieved and using just a pieceof pipe material, weight and cost are saved.

FIG. 7 shows one of the arm-rests 19 of the chair. The arm-rest is madeof U-shaped element 25, whose open end points towards the ground and atop plate 26. Element 25 has five openings 20 and an underlying longslot 27 in both parallel walls of the element 25. Both arm-rests of thechair are provided with two large washers 28. One of the washers isoutside and the other one is inside of the arm-rest. The pivot 21 freelygoes into the outside washer and passes easily through the long slot 27and through the top section of the support tube 22 as well, and its endis riveted or solidly united to the washer at the inner side of the arm.Since the washer located outside at the head of the pivot 21 7 canrotate freely thereon and the end of the pivot is united with the insidewasher, and an adequate play is left between the washers on both sidesof the arm-rest, a smooth movement is assured when changing the positionof the back, on folding or setting up the chair.

The width of the five openings 20 in the arm are equal, but theirlengths are different. The distances of the wall portions between theopenings are also equal. To obtain and keep the arms in parallelposition with the ground, openings 20 are of different lengths. When theback of the chair is at a 90 position, related to the floor, the opening20, nearest to the back, has the shortest length, but high enough tohold the rivet safely and sustain the selected position. The firstopening from the front is the longest, highest one, and when it is used,the back of the chair is in the lowest and farthest position from thefront.

Top plate 26 is secured to the surface of the armrests 19, moreparticularly only on the front half of them; plate 26 is made ofmasonite or plywood (the same material as the seat and back panel) oraluminum and is wider than element 25, as shown on FIG. 8, for betterand comfortable grip. It would be even more economical and more pleasantappearing if the armrests including the curved connectors 29 were madeof hard plastic or nylon, as only one I piece, eliminating the rivets 30securing connector 29 to element 25.

, pivot 31 goes through in the tube 8 above its middle.

The outer and inner side of the flattened end of the connector 29 areprovided with large washers 32 for firmness. Between the inside washerand the back-support-tube 8, a spacer 33, made of a piece of pipe, isused to keep the arm-rests 19 in cleared position from the back panel,and in proper line relating to the support tube 22. The connector 29moves freely on the pivot 31. The back panel, which is fastened to theframe tube 8 by rivets 34, is bent in a slight curve for comfort andfits easily between the arm-rests 19 when the chair is folded. The lowerend of the support tube 22 is connected to the legs outside by the samepivot 4 which holds together both legs. Also, this flattened end of thesupport tube is provided with large washers 35 on both sides; outside,right under the head of the pivot, and inside, before the pivot 4 entersthe leg, as well. The tube 22 passing through the eyelet 23 goes intothe arm-rest from below. In its top section there is a hole where thepivot 21, provided with the abovementioned two washers 28 on its bothends, crosses and holds the arm underneath.

The non-foldable conventional chair with fixed, solidly connected legs1' and 2' is shown in FIG. ;it is equipped with the following extraparts as they are shown in FIGS. 9 to 14. The sides on the front of theseat 5' are connected to the front legs 2 by pivot connectors 36,working similarly to a hinge, on both sides. The notches 14' for thedifferent levels are formed into a steel or bronze box-like member 37which is inserted and fastened by two screws into a cavity made in theinside edges of the rear legs 1', facing the side of the seat 5'; theaccess to the notches 14' in the box 37 is facing towards the front legs2'. FIGS. 11 and 12 show a plate 38 with a stud 39. These plates 38 arescrewed into both sides of the back section of the seat 5', facingtowards the rear legs 1'; the stud 39 is pointing towards the notches14' of the box 37. By the stud 39, which is placed into any of thenotches 14' in the box 37, the seat can be set and kept at the desiredinclination or kept horizontal. The holding plate 40 of the pivotconnector 36 is sunk and screwed into the side of the seat 5 and theplate 41 is fastened and also sunk into the front leg 2' by two screws.The plates 40 and 41 are pivotally interconnected and also for relativetranslation movement by a link plate 42 and two strong and large headedpivots 43 and 44. The stud plate 38 is also sunk and screwed into theside of the back portion of the seat.

Comparing with the folding execution, the stud 39 plays the role of thecross-rod 17; the box 37 with notches 14 corresponds to the top sectionand notches 14 of the leg 1, and the pivot connector 36 works similarlyto the clamped upper section 3 of the leg 2.

If this type of chair is made of wood, the movement ofthe arm-rest andadjustment of the back is solved, as it is shown on the foldable type. Abox 45 (FIG. 16) is inserted from below unto a recess made in the frontportion of the arm-rest 19'; a long slot 27 and openings are formed inbox 45. Otherwise, the shape of the arm-rest can be the same as in thefoldable chair embodiment and is pivoted at 31 to back frame 8'.

Since the legs are immobile and stable, the support tube 22, eyelet tube23 and washers 28 of the first embodiment, are eliminated. The front leg2' has an upper extension inserted into box 45 and provided with a pivot21', which goes cross-wise of the arm-rest underneath; it moves easilyin the slot 27' and engages any of the openings 20. The rear leg 1' alsoreaches above the seat 5' and provided with pivot 10 for pivotalconnection of the back frame 8' of the chair back-rest 9', as it isshown on the foldable type.

In both types of chairs, the foldable and non-foldable embodiments, andin the leg holder as well, I wanted to materialize my inventive idea andsatisfy an every-day need approaching to fill that lack from the verypractical aspect and with the possible inexpensive solution. When Iexerted to find the lightest weight solution and use reinforcement onlywhere it is needed, it was done not only for the low price by savingmaterial, but chiefly for the easy use and benefit for those people whoneed and use it only for therapeutic purposes.

What I claim is:

1. An article of furniture comprising front and rear legs crossing oneanother and pivotally interconnected intermediate their ends, a supportpanel pivotally connected to said front legs, and movable forwardly andrearwardly of said rear legs due to the pivotal interconnection of saidfront and rear legs, studs laterally protruding from said panel andmeans on said rear legs forming a series of forwardly opening notchesdisposed at different levels to selectively receive said studs, saidnotches being upwardly inclined towards their open ends, and furtherincluding a lock tube rotatably surrounding the means on said rear legsforming a series of forwardly opening notches, said lock tube having asolid wall on one side and a window on the other side, said lock tube,when rotated to a position with said window in register with saidnotches, permitting a change in position of said studs in said notches,and when rotated to a position with said solid wall in register withsaid notches, locking the support panel in the desired height and angle.

2. An article of furniture as claimed in claim I, wherein said supportpanel constitute the seat of a foldable chair and further including aback-rest for said chair pivotally connected to the rear legs, arm-restsfor said chair pivotally connected to said back-rest, supporting membersfor said arm-rests, said arm-rests including a plurality of openings,extending from front to back of said arm-rests, adapted to selectivelyreceive the upper ends of said supporting members, whereby saidback-rest and said seat can be adjustably inclined separately andindependently from each other.

3. An article of furniture as claimed in claim 2, wherein said pluralityof openings are downwardly opening notches with their bottom disposed atgradually higher levels from back to front of the armrests, thearm-rests being kept horizontal by the different levels of the notchbottom after the position of the back-rest has been changed.

4. An article of furniture as claimed in claim 3, wherein the arm-restsupporting members are pivotally connected to the pivotalinterconnection of said front and rear legs, and further includingeyelet tubes pivotally mounted on said seat and slidably receiving saidarm-rest supporting members for keeping the latter in correct line andpermitting folding of and setting up the chair.

1. An article of furniture comprising front and rear legs crossing one another and pivotally interconnected intermediate their ends, a support panel pivotally connected to said front legs, and movable forwardly and rearwardly of said rear legs due to the pivotal interconnection of said front and rear legs, studs laterally protruding from said panel and means on said rear legs forming a series of forwardly opening notches disposed at different levels to selectively receive said studs, said notches being upwardly inclined towards their open ends, and further including a lock tube rotatably surrounding the means on said rear legs forming a series of forwardly opening notches, said lock tube having a solid wall on one side and a window on the other side, said lock tube, when rotated to a position With said window in register with said notches, permitting a change in position of said studs in said notches, and when rotated to a position with said solid wall in register with said notches, locking the support panel in the desired height and angle.
 2. An article of furniture as claimed in claim 1, wherein said support panel constitute the seat of a foldable chair and further including a back-rest for said chair pivotally connected to the rear legs, arm-rests for said chair pivotally connected to said back-rest, supporting members for said arm-rests, said arm-rests including a plurality of openings, extending from front to back of said arm-rests, adapted to selectively receive the upper ends of said supporting members, whereby said back-rest and said seat can be adjustably inclined separately and independently from each other.
 3. An article of furniture as claimed in claim 2, wherein said plurality of openings are downwardly opening notches with their bottom disposed at gradually higher levels from back to front of the arm-rests, the arm-rests being kept horizontal by the different levels of the notch bottom after the position of the back-rest has been changed.
 4. An article of furniture as claimed in claim 3, wherein the arm-rest supporting members are pivotally connected to the pivotal interconnection of said front and rear legs, and further including eyelet tubes pivotally mounted on said seat and slidably receiving said arm-rest supporting members for keeping the latter in correct line and permitting folding of and setting up the chair. 